Terps Win Back-to-Back ACC Championships, Oust No.1 UNC

By Brian Kapur

Missed the game? Listen to the entire championship game broadcast anytime by clicking here (skip ahead to the 1minute 10 second mark for the start of the game)

North Carolina was the thorn in the Terps side. Maryland's only two losses of the last two seasons came at the hands of the Tar Heels, but the Terps flipped the script and overwhelmed UNC in the ACC Championship game to claim their second straight and seventh all-time ACC title.

The Terps set the tone for the game early as tournament MVP Caitlyn McFadden assisted Amanda Spinnenweber on a goal just 31 seconds into the game. The Terps never looked back as they outscored the Tar Heels 6-1 in the first half.

The Terps offense was led by McFadden who had three goals and dished out two assits. Meanwhile Laura Merrifield and Kristy Black added in two goals each. Sophomore Karri Ellen Johnson continued her streak of scoring a goal in every game by adding one in. Sarah Mollison and Spinnenweber also chipped in a goal.

While the Terps were rolling on offense and finding ways to beat the best goal keeper in the nation, the Terps defense stifiled the UNC offense.

Brittany Dipper, who had some struggles midseaon, was in top form as she set a career high 12 saves. A big performance by the Big Dipper is no surprise as she also had a career high 10 in the Terps ACC title win last year.

The Terps defense swarmed the midfield and used physical play to shut down the Tar Heels. Karissa Taylor and Brittany Poist set the tone and the added pressure kept UNC on their "heels" for the majority of the game.

All Tournament Terps
MVP Maryland McFadden Sr. M
Brittany Dipper So. G
Karri Ellen Johnson So. A
Laura Merrifield Jr. M
Sarah Mollison Jr. A
Brittany Poist Jr. D
Karissa Taylor Sr. D

Terps- Carolina Rivalry set for another chapter

The Terps and UNC have always had a rivalry across the board in every sport. But as of late the rivalry between the women's lacrosse teams has heated up.

The Terps had dominated the series since 2007, winning four straight, but in the NCAA final four last year UNC upset the Terps. Earlier this year in what was a perceived revenge game, the Tar Heels beat the Terps in Chapel Hill 13-9 on senior day.

After that game, UNC provided plenty of bulltien board material on the dailytarheel.com (UNC's student newspaper) Here is the complete link http://www.dailytarheel.com/content/womens-lacrosse-downs-umd-win and here is the specific quote:

“What was nice about this game is they’ve had a lot of, I guess you could say excuses about they didn’t play well, they didn’t show up to the final four,” UNC senior defender Kristen Carr said. “So it was really awesome for our team to come out and to make a statement and be like, no, this is who we are.”

So there is plenty of bad blood as these teams will meet up with the coveted ACC championship on the line. Unlike in the past two matchups, the Terps come in as the underdog, even though they are defending champs, and that has put an added chip on their shoulder. Talking to some of the players leading up to this not being No.1 in the conference has taken off some of the pressure and target on their back. Come Sunday the Terps plan on being the Hunters instead of the Hunted as they look to take down the Tar Heels who have had their number as of late.

Meetings since 2007

Regular season this year - UNC 13-9

Mary 23, 2009 - UNC, 8, Maryland 7 (NCAA Tournament)
April 11, 2009 - UNC 8, Maryland 13

April 25, 2008 - UNC 4, Maryland 6 (ACC Tournament)

April 12, 2008 - Maryland 10, UNC 8

March 24, 2007 - UNC 6, Maryland 8

Terps Beat UVA enroute to ACC Championship Game

Missed the game? Listen to a replay here

by Brian Kapur

UVA controlled the pace of the play in the first half and would not allow the Terps to kick their offense into gear, but at halftime the Terps adjusted. Coach Cathy Reese told her team, as she often does, that it was a new half and the team as a whole took it upon themselves to impose their will on the Cavaliers.

The Terps did just that as they dominated the pace of play in the second half and pushed the tempo on offense and swarmed in the midfield on defense. The uptempo style proved to be the difference as Maryland beat Virginia 10-6.

In the first half the Terps and Cavs stats were nearly identical in every category as they battled to a 2-2 tie. In the half the Terps offense was led by freshman Katie Schwarzmann and Brandi Jones who each notched a goal.

In the second half, everything went Maryland's way as the Terps out shot UVA 14-7 and led ground balls 7-5. The Terps went on a 5-0 scoring barrage to take a 7-2 advantage. Jones added in two more goals to complete a hat trick, while Laura Merrifield posted a second half hat trick of her own. The Terps also had two goals from Karri Ellen Johnson who continued her streak of scoring a goal in every game of her collegiate career. Meanwhile Sarah Mollison and Caitlyn McFadden continued their streak of points in consecutive games.

ACC Tournament Bracketology

by Brian Kapur

Listen to today's game starting at 4:45 live on WMUCSports.com

After the first day of the ACC tournament, the No.2 seeded Terps will play No.3 seeded Virginia. The Cavs blew out Virginia Tech enroute to the match up and will provide the Terps with a juxtaposition of playing styles. The Terps run-and-gun against the Virginia slow and stalling offense. Just something to watch for in today's game. More on that in a minute.

On the other side of the bracket, Duke beat Boston College to advance. The Blue Devils will play No.1 (both in seed and in national ranking) UNC in today's early game. Duke certainly looked like a much better team than the one the Terps beat 17-4 earlier this season. Their midfield speed and swarming defense that was on display against the Eagles was more like the form they showed in last season's thrilling ACC title game.

With the top 4 seeds holding serve so far, this is the round where upsets can happen. And I have a hunch that the Blue Devils may just pull it off...

Back to the Terps matchup. Talking to Terps players the UVA stalling offense is frustrating, but it also forces them to take care of the ball and maximize each possession, which the team views as a good thing. This game will come down to one thing, whose style of play wins out? The Terps have had that edge since 2008 - winning four of the last five matchups.

Talking to the Virginia head coach, the plan will remain the same, that stalling offense, with some transition if there are holes. For the Terps its all about speed, somthing has to give and you can hear it all unfold live at 4:45 live on WMUCSports.com !

Reese gets 100th Career Win, Terps Cruise past Hokies

Missed the game? Listen to a replay anytime by clicking here

The Terps closed out their ACC regular season schedule in style as they blew out Virginia Tech 18-4 at Ludwig field. Sarah Mollison and Karri Ellen Johnson combined for seven goals while the Terps had 13 different players score points in the blow out.

Terps Rebound by Drubbing Tigers

Relive the Terps win anytime by clicking here to listen to the full broadcast

The Terps rebounded from their first loss of the season with an offensive explosion and lockdown defense to beat Princeton 13-6. The complete team performance led to three WMUC players of the game- Karri Ellen Johnson who tied a career high six goals, Brittany Dipper who was a force in goal with seven saves and Brittany Poist anchored the defense and flew all over the field.

Terps Fall Short in Chapel Hill

The Terps valient effort and comeback bid fell just short as UNC hada Final Four re-run as UNC goal keeper Logan Ripley made incredible saves to hand Maryland their first loss of the season.

Listen to a replay of the game anytime here

Showdown: Key Matchups

The Terps and North Carolina matchup very well. The Terps powerful offense against the TarHeels' stingy defense is the key. But North Carolina's offense is improved and three matchups will likely decide this matchup.

Caitlyn McFadden vs Bosica
Pair of dynamic midfielders who play on both ends of the field. Both contribute to the defensive efforts, transition and offensive scoring attack.


Becky Lynch vs Karri Ellen Johnson
This is a battle of Super Sophs. Johnson has 35 goals and leads the Terps with 45 points. Meanwhile Lynch is second on the TarHeels with 24 goals and leads the team with 15 assists.

Terps offense vs Ripley
This is the most important matchup if the Terps are to win. They cannot pose predictable shots and really place the ball to get it past the Nation's best goal keeper. Ripley has the fewest goals-allowed this season and can shut down opposing offenses and was a major key to the UNC upset last season. The Terps have more than enough fire power to put up points against UNC, they did in the regular season matchup last year when they put up 13 goals.

Setting the stage for the showdown

This year's matchup between the Terps and Tar Heels is about far more than just another regular season battle.

Terps had won the last four meetings until the final four meeting last year.

In last year’s final four game the Terps trailed 5-7 in the second half and rallied to tie the game at 7. But The Tarheels answered the terps tying goal about a minute later to take an 8-7 lead they would never relinquish.

The Terps had a chance to tie the game and thought they had when Caityln McFadden seemingly scored a goal. But a crese violation wiped it off the board and the Tar Heels were able to kill the remaining time.

UNC’s defense made the difference. They disrupted the Terps offense, held them to just 22 shots and UNC goal keeper Ripley made several incredible saves.

While the Terps will likely have revenge on their mind, they did soundly beat UNC in their regular season matchup.

In the regular season meeting the first half was very close and a 5-5 tie, but the Terps would go on to outscore the Tar Heels 8-3 in the second half to win 13-8

Terps Roll Past UPenn

Missed the game? Listen to a replay here

Terps shook off their first half struggles against JMU and Towson and played well from the openning draw enroute to a 12-6 win. Kristy Black posted a career high 3 goals, while Kari Ellen Johnson finished with 4.

Terps Use Stellar Second Half to Defeat Towson

The Terps trailed Towson 8-3 , but led by Sarah Mollison's four goals the Terps made a furious second half comeback to win 12-10. Listen to the epic comeback anytime by clicking here

Schwarzmann and Jordan Rally Terps Past JMU

Missed the Game? Listen to a replay here anytime

The Terps trailed 5-4 at halftime, but a pair of underclassmen led the charge back. Schwarzmann posted a hat trick while Mary Jordan allowed just two goals as the Terps rallied. Relive the comeback anytime

Terps Blowout Standford

Missed the game? Listen to a replay here

by Brian Kapur

The Terps used an offensive explosion to defeat Stanford 20-8.

Karri Ellen Johnson led all scorers with four goals, while seemingly everyone else also had a say on the stat sheet. Laura Merrifield notched three goals, while Brandi Jones, Caitlyn McFadden, Katie Schwarzmann, Alex Aust, and Kate Faas notched two goals each. Sarah Mollison, Kristy Black, and Brittany Jones all added in a goal as well.

The Terps fell into a 0-1 hole, but then reeled off 10 straight goals to make it 10-1 and never looked back. The Terps led 13-4 at halftime and outscored the quakers 7-4 in the second half.